Perfectly Imperfect
by The Wonderful Nobody
Summary: She craved to know. She desired to know how he turned his impurities into his strengths. And thus she battled alongside the others, never really fighting with them or for them. She was merely fighting to get closer to Seifer.
1. Ignorant Euphemisms

Perfectly Imperfect 

_Prologue: Ignorant Euphemisms_

_Nobody's perfect. Beauty is only skin deep. Treat others as you wish them to treat you. _These were all ignorant euphemisms to Quistis. She herself strove to be perfect. She knew, however, that there was no perfect human. Hyne himself was imperfect. But it did not keep her from striving for a simplistic, but perfect life, where she would finally be given a chance to stop working so hard and just enjoy being young.

True beauty was only skin deep, but the world thrived on the superficial beauty that girls paraded around these days. And as for the treating others as you wish to be treated… She had spent her entire life, always walking on eggshells and swallowing fire for everyone else and she still remained the Ice Queen, the Instructor, and nothing more to anyone.

She spent her entire life, following a haunting obsession to be loved by Squall. Never a harsh word did she speak to him, never a hurtful gesture. She stood by his side, even in the times when he craved nothing more than to be left alone. When he suffered, she was there to hold his hand, even when he pushed her away. And when he was unable to go on any longer, she opened the door of hope to him and showed him that there was a meaning to life.

She always treated him the same way – with love. Yet the affections were never returned. As time crawled by, she began to look inward, towards her own self-doubts and flaws. She used to believe that she was treated the way she was because she was always looking to the wrong people for the wrong things. Yet as life continuously turned its back on her, she looked inward, realizing that it wasn't the world that was imperfect… It was herself that was imperfect. It was her fault that no love or luck ever came to her.

But as she watched from afar as Seifer single-handedly rose the most powerful sorceress to power and turned his back on the world and those he grew up with, she found another imperfect being that she craved to know. She desired to know how he turned his impurities into his strengths. And thus she battled alongside the others, never really fighting with them or for them. She was merely fighting to get closer to Seifer.


	2. Trial of the Century

_Chapter One: Trial of the Century_

A sickening knot twisted in her stomach and her skin was flushed. She felt like her skin was on fire, but goosebumps trailed down her pale flesh and a cold shudder trembled down her spine. This was it. This was the day that the traitor, Seifer Almasy would be on trial for treason on eight different accounts, as well as the murder of hundreds of generations of SeeD mercenary. Things seemed highly ominous, and Quistis couldn't help but feel nothing but dread over the highly anticipated trial.

The clouds overhead were black and ominous, twirling and gliding across the sky, likes hawks searching for their prey. The smell of rain was in the air but hadn't splashed from the sky to splatter on her skin just yet. The streets were silent and empty, only the occasional stray dog sauntering around the corner and slipping into an alleyway without the slightest whimper.

Quistis shivered and pulled the jacket tighter around her slender frame, breathing out slowly. Her hot breath fogged in the air in front of her and she wrinkled her nose. She hated the cold. Despite being nicknamed the Ice Queen because of her cold, stern and seemingly uptight attitude, she hated anything cold. She even drank her tea hot from the pot. Her hand rested on her stomach, willing the pain to go away.

Her crystal blue eyes turned down the street to rest on the courthouse, which stood tall over the smaller buildings around it. Inside that dark brick building sat Seifer Almasy himself, cuffed, bound, and slightly sedated. She shook her head, shaking her blonde locks out of her eyes. She had decided to wear it down today. If today was to be Seifer's last day on the planet, she wanted to honor it by showing to him that she wasn't just the uptight Instructor who wore the tight bun and constantly pushed him to be better. She was also the little girl he grew up with, the girl that she wished he would at least recognize as an acquaintance, if not a friend.

She strode towards the building, her heels clicking against the pavement. The sound reverberated against the buildings on either side of the street, the only sound, other than the wind whistling through the bare trees, shaking away what few leaves remained. She reached the doors almost too soon for her liking. She found that her arm was trembling as it reached to push the heavy oaken door open. She understood that he committed treason, murder and many other heinous crimes but it just didn't seem fair to condemn him for them. He was merely a puppet in these crimes, led blindly by the black witch. If only the world could see it that way…

She strode through the doors, swearing to herself that she would not show weakness through the trial. She would sit primly in her chair, her face carved of stone as she watched history in the making. And she vowed that she would not cry as Seifer's face fell and he weakened under the pressure of his impending doom. She would sit and watch, as silent as a doll.

xxx

Seifer tried to lift his head from the dingy pillow but he felt weak and sick. His skin glistened with sweat and he struggled against his bonds weakly. He blinked, trying to see the world around him without the blurring of colors and shapes but the room remained a blend of grays, blacks and browns. He could feel a hint of light from behind him and he assumed it was a window.

He sighed heavily, a pressure on his chest. It was a dead weight, the thickening feeling that his life was about to reach its end. It was slowly suffocating him and the lights around him seemed to grow dimmer. How could he have let this all happen? What happened to two years ago when his life seemed perfectly under his control? When had he lost it all? A sneer creeped to his face when remembrance sank into his fragile and damaged mind.

It had been her… That damned sorceress… She had led him astray. She pulled him away from Rinoa, from the school, where he was, if not happy, then at least settled, and from those he had grown up with. He was torn away, chasing a foolish ambition, a blind dream with no tomorrow. His cheeks burned with shame as he remembered how easily he had climbed into her trap, becoming the perfect puppet, the perfect pawn. It was all his fault that Rinoa was now in Squall's arms, that he was now forbidden to come anywhere near the Gardens on penalty of death, and that the eyes that once viewed him with some sense of familiarity and kindness, now glared upon him with hatred and the desire for vengeance.

He tugged once more uselessly at the heavy chains that bit into the thin flesh of his wrists as he turned his head towards the door. It slid open slowly, the creaking sound a siren to his ears. He closed his eyes with great effort, unwilling to stare his death in the eyes. He kept his poisonous green eyes closed off from the world as the stranger unchained him from the bed and yanked him to his feet.

"No funny business. Even though you are to stand trial, I have orders to shoot you if you try anything, Traitor." The man sneered, yanking the haggard Seifer across the room. Seifer hit something hard in his shins and stumbled, his arms reaching up to catch himself. But the chains still held his wrists inches apart and he slammed to the floor, biting his lips to keep from yelling out in pain.

His weakened body seared with pain as the man pulled back his leg and kicked Seifer hard in the ribs. "Get up now! We don't have time for this!" Seifer managed to roll onto his side and his eyes blinked open heavily. His vision was still blurry but now stars danced across his eyes.

"I would but I'm chained, remember?" He mumbled, shaking the chains lightly. The man growled and reached down, grabbing Seifer by the front of his shirt and once again hefted him to his feet.

"I can't wait until they hang you…" The man growled, his face not even an inch from Seifer's. "It's exactly what you deserve…" Seifer tried to laugh but his ribs felt broken. It even hurt to breathe…

"Then I hate to see what the hell you deserve!" He murmured before the man threw him out into the hall. He stumbled once more and hit the wall. This time, however, he didn't fall. He managed to stay on his feet barely. But he did hunch over, spewing the contents of his stomach. He coughed and retched, feeling like his insides were being ripped out.

Maybe death wasn't to be feared. Maybe it was to be desired…

xxx

All eyes were on his haggard and wasted away frame. The former glory that was Seifer had vanished. The once arrogant and healthy man now stood hunched over, life gone from his eyes. His face was covered in stubble, his flesh the pallor of death. Even under the old suit that the court had furnished for him, his bones stuck out alarmingly. He limped to his seat and grimaced as he was shoved down into it. The guard painfully locked him to his seat before striding away, proud that he had been one to put down the traitor with disdain.

Quistis found her hands clutching her seat so hard that her knuckles had turned bone white. This was Seifer? It couldn't be! This wasn't the young man that had treated her with loathing and disrespect for all of these years. This wasn't the young man that had once been so proud, so strong, so lost… He looked desolate, all like a lost soul, a forgotten child… Yet Quistis still did her best to confine her emotions to her heart, not to her face. Rinoa wasn't so lucky.

Tears streamed down her face and every now and then a choked sob escaped past her pouted lips. Her chocolate brown eyes were fixated on her former love, her former friend. Yet her hands clutched to Squall's as if she were afraid of what sat in front of her. And why else would she fear him, other than she had suffered as he fed her to the witch Ultimecia without a second thought to the feelings they used to share for each other? Seifer refused to return her gaze, instead choosing to stare at the tattered shoes he wore on his sore feet.

"Mr. Seifer Almasy. You are here today to stand trial for your crimes against Balamb, Galbadia, as well as all of Gaia. Have you anything to say before we begin?" The judge asked begrudgingly, annoyed that he had to go through all of the proceedings before he could lay down the sentence that Seifer was to face.

Seifer lifted his eyes, looking around the room at the faces that stared at him with utter loathing. He had a faint memory of when he had viewed the world the same way. Maybe it was only fair that the world now looked at him this way. Only one face did not look at him with such disdain and disgust.

The former Instructor sat rigid in her chair, her skin pale. His eyes fell on her own and she trembled noticeably. He almost smiled. He recognized the act she was pulling. She had done this before the Sorceress War. She would tense up, try to disguise the intense feelings she was shouldering. But by trying to hide them, she only made them more obvious. Well, obvious to those who even bothered to pay attention. He could see the slight trembling of her lip and recognized how glassy her eyes were getting. She was trying not to cry? He shook his head at the judge.

"I have nothing to say to anyone." He stammered, his voice gruff and rumbling, not a hint of his former arrogance or confidence remaining. He glanced back up at Quistis and found her crumbling under his gaze. A tear fell from the corner of her eye and landed on her hand. She barely even noticed and if she did, she made no move to show that she did.

The judge began but Seifer no longer heard any of the words they spoke. The sound of rushing water filled his head and soon he heard nothing at all. The world around him clouded but he knew it had nothing to do with the sedatives this time. This was just his realization that he was going to die. There was nothing left for him anymore. The entire world wanted him dead and they would get what they wanted it seemed. He was a broken man… And all because he wanted to fulfill some foolish romantic dream… What a fool he had been.

"The sentence for the traitor Seifer Almasy will be…" The court held its breath but Quistis found that hers was escaping in short gasps. This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end… Could it? "Death."

The word reverberated in his mind. Death. As simple, and as complex, as that. That was to be his punishment for being too ambitious. He wasted his time on Gaia and he was to pay for it.

"Hyne… I never thought it would come to all of this…" He murmured as the court went into uproar around him. People jumped to their feet, slapping each other on the backs and laughing with glee. They were condemning him to death and that's all they could do was jump and laugh at him? He found that he was suffocating again but this time the dead weight was real. He was to die. That was the fate that the witch had fed to him. She had promised pride, glory, and fame. But he was dealt the opposite hand.

He lifted his dull green eyes to the only one who wasn't celebrating. She sat, a broken statue, crumbling in a world of hate. Tears flowed freely from her crystal blue eyes, staining her pale cheeks with the black mascara. She sobbed, unheard in the chaos of the building. He reached a hand out to her and she struggled to climb to her feet. Something was pulling her to him and she had to touch him one last time, to show him some part of the world that wasn't blackened with hate.

The guard pointed the gun to Seifer's head, a grin on his face. "C'mon, bastard, time to carry out your sentence in the courtyard. Everyone's ready to watch you hand." Quistis pushed the roaring crowds, her hand still extended for him. He struggled to reach out to her, to feel her warm flesh against his own suddenly cold skin. She seemed to be the only sanity left for him or anyone else. But the guards yanked him through the doors and the doors closed on her tearful face. She yelled one thing to him.

"Seifer!" The despair and longing in her voice was death itself. He shut his eyes and went limp, uncaring any longer. It was too late for Quistis, or anyone else for that matter, to save him. He was gone. The guards dragged his limp body up the makeshift platform roughly, but he no longer cared for pain. He had suffered his entire life, today would be no different other than the pain would finally end.

The crowds pushed through the doors following after them into the courtyard. Formerly a thing of precious beauty and fragility, it was now a waste of twisted plants and dead grasses. It seemed the perfect place for a death. Quistis was in the middle of the crowd, being herded out by their hysterics. She looked up at him only to find that he was gone, there was nothing left of Seifer.

He stood like a puppet as they strung him up, the thick knotted rope tightened around his throat. Tears formed in his eyes; in the last moments of his life, pride was useless and vanity a foolish concept. The world watched in a stunned silence as his last shred of dignity was ripped away as tears slid down his grungy cheeks. His hands were still handcuffed so he couldn't wipe them away.

Quistis stood at the foot of the stairs, her eyes turned upward to stare at the man that had made her life a living hell – and was about to be sent to hell. Her tears had stopped and the sobs subsided as she watched the oncoming death in front of her. She was young, only nineteen years old and the only person she had ever seen die was Ultimecia, and she could hardly be called human. Would Seifer be her first death, the first of many that will follow as she begins her career as a full-blown mercenary?

A ringing pain shot through her mind and she nearly fell to her knees. Her fingers raised to her temples, trying to stop the nearly blinding pain. Quistis struggled to keep her eyes on Seifer.

_I don't want him to die either, Quistis… What can we do? _Rinoa's voice pleaded with her inside the blonde woman's mind. Quistis grimaced. Rinoa's newly discovered power was especially useful during a mission but she still hadn't mastered it yet, which explained the pain and the ringing at the beginning. _We have to think of something… It wasn't his fault!_

_There's nothing we can do… Nothing legal anyways… _Quistis shifted her gaze from Seifer's trembling body to scan the crowd for Rinoa. She spotted the child sorceress directly across from her, standing on the other side of the platform. _Just look at him, Rinoa… I think he's ready for this… He can only take so much. _

_But - ! _Rinoa started. Quistis cut her off, shaking her head. Even if they could save Seifer somehow, someway, what kind of life would he live afterwards? He would be back to living the deteriorating life he had lived immediately following the Second Sorceress War – constantly on the run, never having a chance to rest, questioning his existence. Seifer needed to die. It was his only option, his only chance at redemption for the souls of those lost, souls that constantly plagued both his sleeping and waking hours.

_There's nothing we can do… He's a broken man, Rinoa. Nothing could ever fix that… _Then Rinoa said it, the words that reverberated deep within Quistis, awakening long forgotten desires.

_You could do it. You could make him better again… Please, Quistis… Help me!_ Thunder crashed above them and the rain poured down, stinging on their skin. Seifer tilted his face upwards, enjoying the feeling of rain one last time. Quistis looked across at Rinoa, expecting her to be sobbing. This was not the case, however. Feather by feather, wings spread from her shoulder blades and her familiar blue and black attire was replaced by a simple white dress. Her skin paled and her eyes lightened, the spaded pupils becoming more apparent.

"Rinoa, no!" Quistis yelled at her. Seifer's eyes widened and he struggled against the rope and others bonds, trying to look over his shoulder at what exactly Quistis was telling Rinoa not to do. Quistis leapt up the stairs, shoving the guards aside. Rinoa lifted easily into the sky, not seeming to be affected by the rain. She still remained completely dry while Quistis looked on drenched.

Rinoa flew around to the front of the platform, the wind from her wings pushing the people backwards. Rinoa turned her eyes to Seifer's damaged form. _Hold the guards off with your magick while I free Seifer and cure him enough to get out of here. _

Quistis screamed. _Do you know what's going to happen if we do this? We'll most likely follow him to the grave! _

_Do you want to watch him die? _Rinoa asked simply, her gaze unwavering. Quistis turned her head slowly to look at the man that stood beside her. She found that the dull clouds had left his eyes and he had straightened a little. Was Rinoa already curing him? That's when Quistis noticed the white spark in the pupils of Seifer's eyes. Rinoa was using her deepest magick to heal him.

"Quistis…" He whispered to her. His bound hands lifted in her direction. She stepped towards him, once again compelled by some unknown force that drove her closer and closer to him. She reached a hand up, her hand coming up to his cheek. His eyes closed as he waited for her gentle touch on his cheek. But instead of touching him, she spun around, shooting magick at the guards that stood stunned, staring at the sorceress alight before them. They grunted as they were hit full force by the magick that flung them into the crowds of people held a bay by the wind of Rinoa's wings.

Rinoa's eyes lightened more and more until they were pure white. The spades had disappeared. Quistis looked back as Seifer was slowly returning to his former glory. She smiled and found that he actually smiled back – a real smile, not the sarcastic smirk that used to seem permanently affixed to his facial features. Quistis strode over to him, occasionally flicking a magick over her shoulder to keep the guards away.

Using her Fira magick, she melted away the bonds that held him. She left the noose for last. She stood in front of him, inches away from his body. She could feel his hot breath on her throat and she stared into his eyes for a moment or two. She was putting everything that was her into this moment, everything in saving his life. When had she become so foolhardy? She was letting everything go all at once. And if it failed, not only would his life be lost, but hers as well as Rinoa's.

She reached up and melted away the noose and slowly lifted it from his neck. He fell into her arms, pulling her tightly to him. "Thank you, Quisty…" He called her the old childhood nickname as he clutched her to him, his heart beating next to hers. This was it. They would be partners in crime now. And it felt strangely comforting to Quistis.


	3. Remorse and Regret

_Chapter Two: Remorse and Regret_

As they held each other, they soon felt Rinoa's arms tight around them and they looked up as the world around them was closed off by the softness of the white feathers of her wings. Quistis felt her skin flush as Seifer laid his head on her shoulder, his arms still tight around her middle. "I can never repay you for what you've done for me…"

In a flash of blinding light, the three vanished from the platform and from the Galbadian courtyard. When they finally opened their eyes again, the three were seated on the beach just outside of Edea's orphanage. Rinoa stumbled, the weight of the lifted wings suddenly too heavy for her and she fell into the sand, the tide creeping up and splashing over her magick-worn body. Quistis and Seifer stumbled to their feet and came to her side.

Rinoa looked up at them as her eyes slowly faded back to brown and the spaded pupils were replaced with the normal ones. She hadn't been a sorceress long enough yet to have the spaded pupils scarring her eyes. She smiled at them slowly, her features slowly warming up. "We did it…" She whispered, her voice rough. Once more, since she was a child sorceress, she wasn't well adjusted to her powers or their strength, or their side effects just yet. Seifer helped her to her feet and thanked her, almost with a hint of embarrassment. She had now seen him at his highest point, when he had been in love with her, and his lowest point, when he had been standing at the gallows.

Her eyes looked past the two standing beside her to the run-down orphanage behind them. "No one's been here since the Second Sorceress War and probably won't ever return since the opening in time to Ultimecia's castle had been right here, so it should be safe for a while." Once more the wings lifted from her back. She reached out and touched Quistis's arm who was near tears. "I'll be back soon; I'm going to go to Balamb to try and get some supplies for us. Bye!" And in a flash of light and a whirlwind of feathers, she vanished from right in front of them.

xxx

Her heels clicked loudly in the empty halls of the Garden. Everyone was still in Galbadia at the trial and what was supposed to be an execution. She wrapped her arms tight around herself and found that her fingers curled tightly around Squall's Griever ring. She found her eyes brimming with tears as she imagined what his reaction would be to this sudden twist in plans. As Timber ambassador and a sorceress protected by Balamb, she was supposed to be at the trial/execution as part of the world peace treaty that Squall had submitted with her. But she had most definitely violated that treaty…

She lifted her eyes from her feet and looked up to find stormy blue eyes resting on her own. "Squall…" She whispered. She stumbled forward, her hand no longer clutching the ring, but reaching out to him instead. Instead of falling into her open arms, he stepped backwards, bitterness in his eyes. "Squall, please, let me explain!"

He swiped at the air angrily, his other hand gripping his gunblade tightly. "Explain what? Explain how you've ruined everything that everyone has tried so hard to obtain just because you wanted to save that damn wretch's life?!" He turned his back on her and with that single gesture her heart broke.

"Squall, please… I love you…" She called out to him, her voice desperate and hollow. He stopped in his tracks but did not turn back around to look at her.

"Whatever…" And with that simple, nonchalant phrase filled with all the bitterness and hatred that Squall might have had buried deep within his heart, Rinoa knew that she had committed an act of betrayal against him, as vile as his dear Sis vanishing from his life when he needed her the most, or the denial of the existence of his parents. He was closing himself off to her, like he had every other person in his life.

So she did the only thing she knew to do: she cried. She fell to her knees, feathers floating around her and settling around her in a circle as she sobbed into her hands, her rings bouncing slightly on her heaving chest. She sobbed, the remorse and regret pouring out of her small frame. She had done one man a favor, while she had committed a heinous crime against the other. Yet she still wanted to lose neither of them. She heard footsteps approaching but didn't lift her tear-stained eyes from her hands that lay limp in her lap.

The clattering of the gunblade to the ground finally forced her to look up. Rinoa's eyes traced a path from the fallen weapon to the man who stood directly in front of her. Concern and sorrow had overshadowed the bitterness and resentment in his eyes. He fell to his knees in front of her, his arms pulling her close to him. Her sobs slowly subsided as her body was warmed by his and the sound of his heart beating resounded in her ears.

"Are they going to be mad?" She murmured. His grip on her hand tightened momentarily before it became loose again.

"Mad isn't the word for it. Seifer's execution was crucial in the treaty. But now that he's escaped… And not only did he escape, but also a sorceress helped him…" He turned her face towards his and his voice dropped to a whisper. "You don't understand what it took to convince the world that you wouldn't fall under an evil spell like Edea had. I nearly gave up everything to keep them from locking you in the Sorceress Globe… but now…" He trailed off and his eyes left hers, instead settling on some far off distance.

Her chocolate brown eyes widened, the spaded pupil flashing across the color momentarily. "You don't think they'd… You won't let them will you?" Fear struck her when Squall remained silent. She sat up, her grip tight on his hands. "You can't let them lock me away, Squall, please! Edea told me what kinds of things happened to you in the Sorceress Globe… I can't be locked away!" Tears threatened. He sighed shuddery.

"I can't promise you anything, Rin. If I try to save you, they will believe that I am being controlled by a sorceress just like Seifer was nearly a year ago. Then they will see me as an enemy, just like Seifer. And they'll probably try to punish me, just like they did Seifer." A gasp escaped past her pale pink lips and she realized just how foolish her so-called rescue had been.

Because she had been so eager to rescue a former fling from a punishment that was unjust – he had murdered millions, but it wasn't he that wielded the weapon, but the sorceress Ultimecia herself – she had risked not only her life, but also Quistis's and Squall's as well. She pressed her hands over her eyes, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare. This couldn't really be happening. Everything couldn't possibly be falling apart this easily…

Squall climbed to his feet. "I can't promise that I'll protect you, Rinoa. But I will let you escape this one time from my grasp." She was stunned by the coldness of his words. He was speaking to her the same way he had spoken to Seifer during the Second Sorceress War. What had happened to the loving tones he had used so freely when she had been wrapped up tightly in his arms before Seifer's trial? "I'll try to lead the SeeD astray, but I can only do so for so long before they begin to think that I'm trying to keep you safe." He reached down and lifted the glowing blue blade called Lionheart into his hands, turning in front of him, as if he was inspecting it.

"You, Quistis and that traitor better find a damned good place to hide." And with that, he turned his back on her and continued to walk down the darkened halls of the Garden, a mission on mind, an unsettling feeling in his stomach, and a lost love in his broken heart. Had he really fought so much for her last year only to lose her in a simple, but bitter, act of betrayal. He hung his head, feeling the burning of tears that threatened to fall like rain from his stormy eyes. He understood now; she was still harboring feelings for Seifer. Why else would she risk all to save him?

Rinoa watched his progress down the hall with blurry eyes. She some how managed to get to her feet but stumbled around Garden in a daze. Half an hour later, she had scrounged up enough supplies to last them a while and she half-heartedly withdrew her wings. They were lackluster, however, revealing her forlorn mood. They had been stained a dingy gray. And the light that flashed when she vanished was no longer as bright.

xxx

Quistis and Seifer didn't spend much time out on the beach, feeling extremely exposed under the summer sun. The heat on their flesh was searing and they retreated into the cool of the orphanage to rest and to bury their penitence.

Seifer had sat, awkwardly, in what used to be the kitchen as Quistis had hid herself away in the bedrooms, undoubtedly on the bed that had been hers growing up. Even though she was on the opposite end of the run-down building, her sobs were still apparent.

Seifer eventually found it unbearable. She was suffering because she had risked everything to save his life. Because she had saved him from death, her entire life would be different from there on out. He trudged down the hall, skirting around fallen stones and creepy crawly creatures. He peered around the corner into the bedroom, surprised to find that she had in fact passed up her former bed, choosing instead his. He shook his head; it had to be coincidence.

He walked into the room, silent as she continued to cry, and sat next to her on the bed. He reached out a hand to brush the hair from her face but stopped, nervous. He pulled back and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. Finally he worked up the courage and his touch was as gentle as the touch of a newly born butterfly as he brushed the hair from her wet face and tucked it behind her ears. She slowly pulled her hands away from her eyes and when she did, he wiped the mascara and tears from her cheeks with the faded and worn blanket, taking care to be gentle.

She stared up at him, feeling somewhere deep inside that it had been worth saving Seifer. She slowly sat up, still staring at him. He shrugged uncomfortably before sitting closer to her and wrapping an arm over her shoulders. He contained his surprise when she softened under his touch and rested her head on his shoulder and her hand reached out for his other hand. She traced the lines on the palm of his hand with her forefinger, nearly tickling him.

She glanced up at him, laughing softly. "You have a long life line. So much longer than mine!" When he stared at her confused, she traced the line that started just above his thumb. "See this line? Well it's supposedly your life line and tells you whether you'll have a long or short life." She turned over her own hand, showing him the shortness of her lifeline. He covered her palm with his hand. He had a sick thought in his mind, the thought that she'd probably die trying to keep him safe or die because she had saved him.

She sighed, resting her head once more on his shoulder as he interlaced his fingers with hers. He finally lay back and her head rested on his chest instead, but her grasp on his hand never let go. His free hand toyed with her hair and traced shapes and lines on her back until the sound of her deep breathing told him that she was fast asleep. He thought about getting up and leaving her to rest but her grip on his hand was steadfast and he didn't want to wake her. So he remained with her in his arms as he stared at the ceiling, which was just as cracked and fragmented as his life. And just as confusing.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Quistis began to stir and Seifer turned his poisonous green eyes down to look at her serene face. But as she awoke, her face contorted to one filled with emotions, both good and bad. Finally her crystal eyes slid open and widened when she found his inches from her own. "Good morning?" He offered, hoping it would be taken as solace. She instead sat upright, nervously running her fingers through her hair and straightening her clothes.

"How long did I sleep?" Quistis asked, climbing up from the bed and taking a few steps back. Seifer sat upright, trying to read her. Was she scared of him?

"About fifteen minutes, maybe twenty…. Are you okay?" He questioned, climbing to his own feet. She unconsciously stepped back a little. She nodded and strode towards the doorway.

"We should start fixing this place up. It looks like we might be here a while." That's when Seifer noticed that there was a rosy tinge to her cheeks. She wasn't scared, she was embarrassed. He nearly laughed at this revelation, but held it back to keep from making her anymore embarrassed. But as he followed her down the hall, he reached out for her hand and interlaced his fingers just to gauge her reaction. Just as he guessed, the rosy tinge darkened to a deep crimson, but she didn't pull her hand away or shy away from his touch.

"Why so red, Instructor?" He asked, pulling her back so that she walked beside him. This time she did pull her hand away and turned her back on him to begin the process of restoring the orphanage to its former glory.

"Seifer, there's no time to waste. We really need to get started. I'd really rather have this place fixed up before it's time to go to bed tonight. There's no telling what has been living here since Edea abandoned it." She took care to be extremely loud in gathering up items and even more care in making sure that her face was hidden from his view.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, Quisty! If you ever get scared, you can just climb in my bed with me!" At that she dropped the stuff on the table loudly and spun around, with a huff. She glared at him but soon found herself smiling as he grinned widely at her.

"Don't push it, Seifer. I may have saved your life, but I don't need a noose to get rid of you!" She pointed a finger at him and he pretended to bite it. She shook her head and they both settled to reassembling their former home.


End file.
